Keep moving…

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I don’t know about you, but I experienced sadness over the holiday period, and especially on New Year’s Eve. Part of this was not being able to celebrate with friends and family in the usual way, but mostly, it was the realization that 12/31/20 was just another day, and that 2021 was going to arrive with the same concerns and obstacles that have consumed our 2020 experience. COVID numbers are on the rise, and then domestic terrorism was added to the growing list of co-occurring pandemics. I certainly felt an exhale following the safe inauguration on Wednesday, but we have so far to go and so much work to do. We have to keep moving.

This is considerably easier said than done. I have found myself suffering from a syndrome I am calling, ‘Everything will be ok once…/I’ll get to it when…’ Have you found yourself saying…..?

After the election is over, I can…
Once we are through the holidays, I’ll…
I’ll get to it in 2021
I can exhale after the inauguration…
Once Trump is out of office things will be…..
When I get the vaccine, we can…
Once the pandemic is over, everything will be….

Whether you consider yourself a procrastinator or not, let’s cut ourselves some slack. This has gone on way longer than anyone thought, and we all want our lives to resume in an informed and fulfilling way. We want to see loved ones, travel, and desperately need to feel safe and secure. It’s been tough to stay motivated enough to complete even the simplest tasks, like getting out of bed, let alone rallying the energy to achieve more aspirational items on your to-do list.

Two people encouraged me to keep moving this past week. Firstly, Dr. King, whose wisdom flooded my social media feed this past Monday:

If you can’t fly, then run.
If you can’t run, then walk.
If you can’t walk, then crawl.
If you can’t crawl,
but by all means, keep moving.

Secondly,  his urging message reminded me of a book a friend and colleague recommended to me last summer, Keep Moving– Notes on loss, creativity and change by poet Maggie Smith. The book reads like a journal of daily encouragements for us to see new beginnings as opportunities for transformation, and to celebrate the beauty and strength on the other side of loss. In this 7 minute interview with Smith (click here) she tells us that as part of her grieving process, she would “Try on hope every day like a garment”.  Smith goes on to share that meditating on hope felt ‘itchy’ and ‘oversized’ at first but with intentional daily practice, became more comfortable over time.  

“Stop waiting on some grand permission to change your life. The universe is to going to tell you it’s ok. Tell yourself it’s ok. Keep moving.” (Smith)

People often ask me what the difference is between transition and change. I have many answers to this question, but as it pertains to the subject of today’s blog, I would answer in a couple of ways. One, that transitions happen over a period of time. By paying regular (daily?) attention to our inner realignment, we can incrementally close the gap between who we are, and who we want to be. And, as Smith said in the quote above, no-one is going to make the transition for us, only we can do it. Here’s another of her gems:

Think of grief, anger, worry as bricks or planks of wood. Stop staring at the materials, half believing they were delivered to you by mistake, half-expecting a truck to haul them away. Accept that these are your materials right now. Start building. Keep moving.

2020 was a herculean disruption in our lives, and 2021 is following suit. But the call to action, to ourselves as individuals, our loved ones, neighbors, communities, organizations, our nation, and the world, is ongoing. As William Bridges, author of Transitions said:

Opt for the turtle, forget about the hare. At the same time, do keep moving. The transition that bought you to this place cannot be undone.

As a transitions coach and consultant, my work is to encourage people to keep moving, serving as a positive accountability partner in my client’s personal and professional journey.  If you are suffering from the “Everything will be ok once/I’ll get to it when’ syndrome, here’s my advice:

1) Be kind to yourself. You are in good company. 2) A little bit every day goes a long way. And 3) Keep moving!